Schools to fall silent in Famine remembrance

Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren will stand in silence next month at a poignant tribute to those who died during the Famine, it was announced today.

Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Eamon Ó Cuív said he has written to every primary and post-primary school in the Republic to request the minute's reflection on May 15.

The mark of respect is one of a series of events planned leading up to the first annual memorial day in commemoration of the 1.5 million people who perished or emigrated during the Great Hunger of the 1840s.

"The Famine was a transforming event in Ireland and there is probably no other event in our history that can be likened to it either for its immediate impact or its legacy," said Mr O Cuiv.

The minister has also asked that all public and sporting events observe a minute's silence on May 17, now dedicated as National Famine Memorial Day.

The day will be marked by a ceremony in O'Donovan Rossa Park in Skibbereen, Co Cork, one of the areas worst affected by the catastrophic failure of the potato crop.

The event will culminate in a State flag and wreath-laying at Abbeystrewery Cemetery where 8,000 to 10,000 Famine victims are buried in a mass grave.

A week before the national commemoration day, Minister O Cuiv will represent the Irish government at the unveiling of a plaque at Grosse Ile near Quebec City in Canada on May 10 in memory of the 7,000 Irish men, women, and children who are buried there.

Grosse Ile was a quarantine station during the Famine which became known as L'Ile des Irlandais - the Island of the Irish.

During the Canadian visit, Minister O Cuiv will also lay a wreath in Ireland Park, Toronto, in tribute to the Irish emigrants who fled to that city at the time to escape starvation.

"I am delighted that the National Famine Commemoration Committee has organised such a dignified and appropriate programme of events for May 2009, in honour of those who died and suffered during the Famine," he said.

"I look forward to representing the government at commemorative events in Canada and Skibbereen in May, both locations having been deeply affected by the Great Irish Famine."